April Unemployment Rates Continue to Decline

The latest county unemployment numbers show a steady decrease in all counties in the region, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. For metropolitan areas, WHQR’s Sara Wood reports Wilmington had the second-largest increase in employment over the last month.

The Wilmington metro area added 1,800 jobs since last month, making it second only to Charlotte. However, the department says it’s more accurate to measure yearly changes because of seasonal patterns like holiday and summer employment. Since last April, Wilmington was the only metro area to show a loss of jobs with the biggest losses in construction and manufacturing. County-wide, New Hanover continues to have the lowest unemployment rate, and it is the only county in the region below the state’s average. Since last year, Bladen County showed the greatest improvement, decreasing by more than 1 percent. Brunswick, Columbus and New Hanover all showed decreases of almost 1 percent.